William h



(Not/fm1.)`

W. H. BROWN. PIRBPROOF FLOOR AND CEILING.-

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No. 545,872?)n Param* uhren..

VILLIAM Il. BROWN, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

FIREPROOF FLOOR ND CEILING.

SPECIFIGATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 545,873, dated September 1 O, 1895.

Application led May 3.1, 1895. Serial No. 551,175. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern: i

Be it known that I, WILLIAM I-I. BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fireproof Floors and Ceilings, of which the following is a specification.

My said invention consists in certain improvements in the construction of fireproof iloors and ceilings, whereby a maximum of strength and rigidity are attained, the doorbeams protected from unequal heat in case of coniiagrations, and various conveniences and economies of construction secured, all as will be hereinafter more particularly described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof, and on which similar letters of reference indicate similar parts, Figure l is a perspective view of a fragment of a floor and ceiling embodying my several improvements and illustrating various stages of construction; Fig. 2, a vertical sectional View on the dotted line 2 2 in Fig. 3; Fig. 3, a Vertical sectional view on the dotted line 3 3 in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4, a detail sectional View at the point indicated by the dotted line Il 4 in Fig. 3, illustrating particularly the method of securing the corrugated iron tothe top of the floor-beams.

In said drawings the portions marked A represent the hoor-beams proper; B, corrugated iron plates secured to the top of said tloor-beams; C, masses of concrete or cement resting on said plates; D, the flooring secured on top of the structure; E, hangers carrying the lath-strips; F, said lath-strips; G, the wire or other similar lathing, andH the plastering.

The door-beams A are composed of two channelshaped members secured together, back to back, by rivets 0r equivalent devices c, and the hangers E and upwardly-projecting spikes d are secured between the adjacent faces at the time the parts are assembled, and are firmly held in position after the parts of the beam are riveted together Vby the squeeze of the rivets. The floor-beams when made are thrown across the building and supported in place in the usual manner.

The plates B are of a-corrugated form with their edges turned upwardly at right angles with the general direction and thence inwardly for a short distance, as shown most plainly in Figs. l and 2, so that when said plates are held in position on the floor-beams the adjacent edges shall form flooring-girders to which the oorng D may be nailed. As illustrated most clearly in Fig. 1, numerous perforations are punched iu these plates, and in punching I cut the metal through on three sides and bend the resulting pieces c upwardly on the fourth side, so that they will stand vertically into the mass of concrete C, which is placed thereon. These perforations being formed at frequent intervals, and there being consequently a correspondingly-numerous lot of these upwardly-projecting pieces the result is that there is such a union formed between the metallic sheet and concrete bed as to cause them to act as one member in sustaining such floor-loads as may come upon the structure, enabling me to take advantage of the high tensile strength ofthe metallic sheet at the bottom and the high compressive strength of the concrete at the top, thus securing the utmost value of the elements of this x composite member, and consequently great transverse strength in this portion of the general structure.

As already mentioned, spikes a are formed on the beams A in the process of.` making them, which, when the beams are in position, stand vertically above said beams. These spikes are` comparatively sharp, while the metal of which the plates B are composed is compara-tively soft, and thus itis an easy matter to puncture said plates by forcing them directly onto the spikes, which may be easily done by means of a hollow punch. However, I do not desire to limit myself as to the manner of forming these holes, but may make them in any way desired. Wfhepm the plates B are placed in position and tolced down over the spikes, said spikes are bent down, as shown, which securely unites them to the Hoor-beams, so that said plates form a strong lateral support for the beams at their upper edges, as well as a floor for the concrete.

The concrete C is placed on the metallic plates B in sufficient quantity to fill the spaces between the upturned edges of said plates level full, and is intended to completely ll the space below the floor and above said plates,

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as shown most plainly in Fig. 1. Vhen the concrete has hardened, it holds the upturned edges of the plates B firmly against each other, so that notwithstanding the thinness of the metal of thel plates B the iiooring-girders formed thereby are comparatively rigid. In practical operation the concrete is allowed to harden and become perfectly dry before the iiooring is put in place.

The flooring D is of an ordinary character, and is secured in place by nailing, the nails d being driven into its edges and down between the adjacent upturned edges of the plates B. While these upturned edges of said plates are held together with great strength, the metal is sufficiently yielding so that sharppointed wire nails can be driven between the adjacent surfaces thereof. As will be readily understood, the nails, when driven, are pinched upon tightly by the said surfaces, and the iioor is thus held strongly to place.

The hangers E, as before stated, are secured to the beams A in the process of making. They are mere wire loops extended the desired distance below the lower edges of the floorbeams, and are intended to carry the lathingstrips, lathing, and plaster, as will be readily understood.

The lathing-strips F are 'of suitable form to carry the lathing. The lathing shown being a wire-netting, these strips are shown as pairs of small flat metal bars passing through the loops or hangers E, one bar of each pair being above and one below said lathing, thus holding it firmlyin place. The lathing itself may be anything desired. It is shown as a strong wire-netting G, held between the lathingstrips F. The plastering II is applied to the lathing in the usual manner.

As will be observed, there isaspace between the upper surface of the lathing and the lower edge of the floor-beams consequent upon the use of the hangers E. An air-space is thus left all around the beams, so that if they shall become heated, as during a conflagration, the heating will be uniform throughout their structure instead of greater at the lower edge, as is common where the plastering or ceiling is attached directly thereto, without any intervening space. The advantage of this will be apparent to those skilled in the art, as it not only protects the beams in large measure from being unduly heated at all, but secures a uniform expansion and contraction if they should become heated, and thus reduces the danger of their becoming permanently set iii/a' 'distorted or warped position. The ceiling also hangs substantially loose from the floor-beams and the beams and ceilings are thus permitted to move laterally relatively to each other, thus avoiding cracking the plastering in cases of movement consequent either upon the settling of the building or upon the expansion and contraction of the parts. The lathing-strips and lathing can be temporarily held with sufficient rigidity for the purposes of applying the plastering by inserting Wooden Wedges, as w in Fig. 3, between the under side of the beams and the upper side of the lathing-strips within the loops of the hangers.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a floor structure, of the floor beams, metallic plates secured to the tops of said floor beams and having their edges turned vertically upward, the vertical portions of the respective plates being laid close to each other, a concrete filling on said metallic plates between said upturned edges, and flooring secured above said edges and said concrete, by nails driven between said upturned edges of said plates, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, in a floor structure,of floor beams composed of two members riveted together, with spikes held between the me1n bers and projecting upwardly from the tops of the iioor beams, and metallic plates placed on said Hoor beams and held thereon by said spikes, which are forced therethrough and then bent over thereon, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination, in a lioor structure, of floor beams composed of two channel bars riveted together back to back, loop-like hangers secured between said bars and there held by the squeeze of the rivets, lathing strips inserted in said hangers, and lathing and plastering secured to said lathing strips, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the beams A composed of two channel bars riveted together back to back, with the hangers E and spikes ct held between them, the metallic corrugated sheets secured to the tops of said beams by said spikes and having upturned edges, concrete placed on said sheets, flooring secured to the top by means of nails driven between said edges, lathing strips secured in said hangers, lathing supported by said lathing strips, and plastering applied to said lathing, the whole forming a composite fire-proof fioor-and-ceiling structure, substantially as shown and described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 25th day of May, A. D. 1895.

WILLIAM I-I. BRO VN.

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